The world's oldest known Jewish prayer book went on public display for the first time on Thursday, joining the Book of Books exhibition at Jerusalem's Bible Lands Museum. The installation of the prayer book was attended by Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Israeli Christians Recruitment Forum founder Father Gabriel Naddaf and Museum of the Bible Chairman Steve Green, who originally purchased the book for his collection. Prior to the installation, the prayer book was shown to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called the book's discovery "one of the most important findings." "We're very excited to have this artifact, which is virtually priceless for us, in Israel, in Jerusalem, at the Bible Lands Museum, for the celebration of the last month of the Book of Books exhibition," said Amanda Weiss, executive director of the Bible Lands Museum. The prayer book was purchased last year for Green's Oklahoma-based collection. Green is the owner of one of the world's largest private collections of rare biblical artefacts. He emphasized the prayer book's historical importance at the installation. "Well, the item is a Jewish prayer book, and it's the oldest Jewish prayer book that is known; it dates to roughly the middle of the ninth century, or the first half of the ninth century. So the Jewish culture will be very interested in knowing about the roots of some of the prayers that are part of their tradition, and so it is a significant item," he said. Carbon-testing methods have placed the book's origin in the period of the Babylonian Geonim, described by the museum as "the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the global Jewish community in the early medieval era," one of whom was the first to write an orderly liturgy that still serves as the basis for Jewish prayer services today. "The oldest Jewish prayer book in the world is one of the most important documents, it still hasn't even been fully researched, but it has come to the Book of Books exhibition by the Green family collection. It gives us an opportunity to present it and have it seen -- it's never been seen before. So it's a connection to our heritage in a way you can talk about, but when you can see it as an artifact, that's really the gift of a museum," said Weiss. The prayer book will remain on display in Jerusalem for the next month.
Credit: Zohar Kligman
The prayer book, or "siddur" in Hebrew, is an estimated 1,200 years old, dating back to the ninth century C. E., and is made up of around 50 pages of Hebrew script. It is about 10 centimeters (four inches) long and seven centimeters (2.8 inches) wide and is still in its original binding. According to the museum, it originates from the Middle East, though research on it is ongoing.
Oldest Jewish prayer book unveiled in Jerusalem
Estimated to be about 1,200 years old, the prayer book is made up of around 50 pages of Hebrew script and is still in its original binding • It will be on display at the Book of Books exhibition at Jerusalem's Bible Lands Museum for the next month.
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